Seal for metal straps



Sept. 8, 1936. F.- P.- PRINDLE 2,053,739

" SEAL FOR METAL STRAPS Filed 001;. e, 1934 Zhwentor 7 flank PPrin die I 150 3B 1 /c3 I Gttorneg Patented Sept. 8, 1936 z UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFIQE SEAL FOR METAL STRAPS Frank P. Prindle, New Britain, Conn assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Cnn., a corporation of Connecticut Application 0ctober6, 1934, Serial No. 747,194

3 Claims. (01. 24'23) The present invention relates to seals for secursuch, for example, as may be applied to a shiping together the ends of metal straps such, for ping box B. C designates the sleeve enclosing example, as are applied to boxes, and has parthe overlapped strap ends. The strap, as is usual, ticular reference to aseal of the type having a comprises a strip of thin, flat metal of high ten- 5 sleeve about the overlapped strap ends, the sleeve sile strength. The sealing member C is conand the interposed strap ends being deformed structed of a piece of metal bent to form a fiat so as to interlock the same. sleeve or tube of such size and shape as to more The aim of the invention is to provide an or less closely receive the overlapping strap ends. improved seal of this sort which has a very high The sleeve has a front or base wall iii; a rear degree of efficiency in that the strap ends are Wall formed by the flanges H, and marginal edge 10 very securely held together thereby and substanor connecting portions i2. The rear wall is lontially the full strength of the strap at the seal gitudinally split alongits medial line, as at E3. is retained. More particularly, in accordance In accordance with the present invention, the with the present invention, I provide an improved seal is provided, to each side of its medial longiseal arrangement wherein the interlocks between tudinal line and adjacent, but spaced inwardly 15 the strap ends and sleeve are so constructed and from, each side edge of the sleeve, with a plupositioned as to produce a joint having a holdrality of deformations 9 spaced apart longitudiing power which closely approximates the tensile nally of the sleeve. In the present instance, two strength of the strap itself without materially such deformations are shown adjacent each side weakening the strap. 1 edge of the sleeve, but obviously the number 20 A further aim of the invention is to provide thereof may-be varied to suit requirements. Each an improved joint having the above and other deformation comprises a series of registeringand advantages and which may bevery readily interlocking humps or indentations formed in the formed with small effort as compared with the front and rear walls of the seal and the interincreased holding power of the joint. vening strap ends, the humps being relatively 25 Other objects will be in part obvious, and in narrow in width and relatively short in length, part pointed out more in detail hereinafter. and extending transversely of the sleeve. These The invention accordingly consists in the feaindentations may be formed by means of a tool tures of construction, combination of elements having for each indentation a wedge-shaped male and arrangement of parts which will be exem- I die and a complementary female die. 30 plified in the construction hereinafter set forth In the particular embodiment of the invention and the scope-of the application of which will be illustrated, each deformation comprises a series indicated in the appended claims. of indentations -or-nested humps i5, I6, ii, and

In the accompanying drawing, wherein I have i8 respectively provided in the front wall of the shown one embodiment which the present invensleeve, the front strap end, the rear strap end, 35 tion may take, and the rear wall of the sleeve. The humps are Fig. l is a perspective view of a portion of a relatively narrow in width, the width of the shipping box to which a strap is applied, the humps preferably being no greater than the ends of the strap being secured together by my thickness of the seal. The humps start adjacent 4o improved seal; the side edges of the strap ends and terminate 40 Fig. 2 is a top or front view of the seal; short of the split 13. The humps l6, l1, and i8 Fig. 2a is a bottom or rear view of the seal; are unbroken. The first indentation I5 is broken Fig. 3 is an edge view thereof; at its central portion due to the fact that the Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the seal, metal of the base plate Ii] of the sleeve is drawn 4.5 this view being taken substantially on line 4-4 out by the male die to a greater extent than the of Fig. 2; metal of the succeeding layers. Each hump has, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through at each side, a side wall l9 extending generally a portion of the seal, this view being taken subtransversely with respect to the length of the stantially on line 55 of Fig. 4; sleeve and disposed at an angle to the plane of Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the member of which it forms a part, so that each 50 the parts spaced apart; and hump has internal side shoulders 28 and external Fig. 7 is a like view taken on the same section side shoulders 2|. By preference, each hump has as is Fig. 5. as its central portion a height at least as great Referring to the drawing in detail, A and A as the thickness of the strap ends. Each hump designate generally the ends of a metal strap projects into the recess provided by the next suc- 5 ceeding hump, and the external shoulders 2| of each hump are in engagement with the internal shoulders 20 of the next succeeding hump. The triangular recess within each series of humps is substantially as deep as the thickness of the sleeve, and the inclined walls of this recess are at substantially 60 relatively to one another.

There is thus provided a plurality of deformations each comprising a series of bumps, adjacent humps having transversely extending, interengaging, and interlocking shoulders which prevents separation of the strap ends when a pulling or stretching force is exerted on the strap. With the arrangement described, a joint of maximum holding is obtained, while at the same time the extent to which the strap ends are slit or deformed and, therefore, weakened, is maintained at a minimum consistent with the requirement that the strap ends be securely held against being pulled apart. I have found that a seal of increased efficiency may be very easily and readily made by providing the deformations of the character described of relatively narrow width and of relatively short length, it being apparent with this a rangement the strain is distributed over a plurality of localities, weakening of the strap ends or the sleeve at any particular point is reduced to a minimum, and splitting or deforming the edges of the strap or seal is avoided.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A seal for metal straps comprising, overlapping strap ends and a flat metal sleeve encircling the same, said seal having at each side and within but adjacent to the margin of said sleeve a plurality of depressed deformations spaced apart longitudinally of the sleeve, each deformation comprising a series of nested, generally archshaped, narrow humps extending transversely of the sleeve and having side walls providing transversely extending internal and external shoulders, each hump extending into the recess of the next succeeding one and having the entire extent of its external shoulders in abutting engagement with the respective internal shoulders of said succeeding one, and the recess within each deformation having a width no greater than the thickness of the sleeve and having a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the seal.

2. A seal for metal straps comprising overlapping strap ends and a flat metal sleeve encircling the same, said sleeve having a base wall, marginal portions, and a rear wall divided on its 1ongitudinal medial line, said seal having, between each marginal portion and the longitudinal medial line of the sleeve, a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart narrow arch-shaped deformations with V-shaped recesses having their side walls disposed generally at right angles to the plane of the sleeve, each deformation comprising a series of interlocking nested humps extending transversely of the sleeve, and each hump having an arched Wall and a side wall at each side providing internal and external transversely extending shoulders, said external shoulders of one hump abutting throughout their entire extents with the respective internal shoulders of the next hump, whereby the humps will lie in mating interlocked engagement throughout their entire contours and the strap ends will be rigidly secured together.

3. A seal for metal straps comprising overlapping strap ends and a flat metal sleeve encircling the same, said seal having, at each side and between each marginal portion and the longitudinal medial line of the sleeve, a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart narrow arch-shaped imperforate deformations, each deformation comprising a series of nested humps extending transversely of the sleeve and each hump having an arched transversely extending wall providing transversely extending shoulders disposed at an angle to the plane of the sleeve, each deformation having a wedge-shaped recess therein of a width no greater than the thickness of the sleeve and having internal and external transverse side faces disposed substantially at right angles to the plane of the sleeve whereby the internal and external faces of adjacent nested humps will lie in respective abutting engagement throughout their entire extents.

FRANK P. PRINDLE. 

